Disclaimer: The characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer are owned by Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and Fox studios. This story is not meant to infringe upon anyone's rights, only to entertain.

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CHAPTER 6 – The New Slayer

A/N: Some dialogue taken from BTVS the Movie.

… 1996 ...

The years pass and the world moves on. Slayers are called one by one and each girl fulfills her calling in her own way. The Slayer fights night after night and whether it be by her side or in the shadows, her guards are there to protect her.


“You know Merrick doesn’t like it when you read through ‘is diary.” Spike called from across the room at a dark haired vampire hunched over a hard bound journal.

“How would you know that ceffo?”

“Did it once a few months ago. Almost got a stake in the ‘eart for it.”

The dark haired vampire gave him a questioning look. “If you ask me he messed up since he let you live!”

“Oi! Don’t forget who saved your ass almost a century ago, Nikolai.”

“How can I forget? He was obnoxious, brash, uncoordinated, loud-mouthed, quite irritating, a faccia di culo… Oh and I forgot … no fashion sense.”

“Wot?! Faccia di culo? ‘‘ey I look good.”

“Now you do because you finally listened to me. If it wasn’t for me, you’d still have that duster locked up somewhere most probably being eaten by moths.”

“ey!”

“What did go on between you and Nikki Wood?”

“Wot the ‘ell are you talking about? There was nothing going on between me and ‘er.”

“I don’t know. The two of you were always sneaking out to do some private sparring.” Nikolai said raising his eyebrows suggestively.

“Please! Get your ‘ead out of your ass.’

“And would the two of you stop bickering like a couple of children.” Caden said coming out of his room still sleepy eyed. “Merrick back yet?”

“No. He said he was going to contact the ragazza today. So depending on how she takes the news, it might take him a while.” Nikolai replied.

“And Angel?”

“Peaches left less than ‘alf an ‘our ago. Said something about checking the city out. Damn Poofter wouldn’t even let me go with him.”

“Since when did you like recon and with Angel no less?” Niko asked.

“Since we’ve been bloody cooped up in ‘ere for almost a week. I need to kill something.”

“Patience was never your strong suit was it Spike? Once Merrick gets this Slayer up to speed you’ll get your chance.”

“So what was this bird’s name again? Buffy something?” Spike asked.

“Buffy Anne Summers.” Niko replied.

“Buffy… what kinda of a name is Buffy?”

“Well sure sounds better than Randolf!” Niko laughed.


**


A middle-aged man in a gray tweed suit by the name of Merrick slowly approached a teenaged girl as she stepped out of the school building and bid goodbye to her friends.
“I’m looking for you.” Merrick said matter-a-factly.

The girl looked at him cautiously. “Why? Am I in trouble or something?” Buffy Anne Summers said trying to maintain her composure.

“My name is Merrick and I was sent here to find you.”

“Me? Uhm… why would you be looking for me?”

“I’m here to bring you … your birthright.”

“Ooooh… that’s like a trust fund right?” She asked hopefully. “I could use the money. I’ve been so busy with cheerleading that I haven’t had enough time in the mall lately.”

Merrick let out a small sigh. This wasn’t going to be as easy as he thought. By the way she was talking she wasn’t much of a girl of reasoning. Perhaps it would be easier to let her see for herself what she could do. “You have to come with me. You must come with me to the graveyard.”

“The graveyard?” she said taking a step back.

“You don’t understand. You are the Chosen One.”

“Chosen One? Chosen to do what?”

“You are a Slayer, Buffy. You have been chosen to protect this world against demons and vampires.”

“Okay. I’m like wigging out here. You stay away from me. Vampires and demons aren’t real. That’s just stuff for the movies.”

“Did you ever dream that you were someone else? Maybe a girl from a different time and place? A princess? A slave?”

“How did you … ?”

“Come with me and you’ll understand.”


**

Buffy pulled her coat tighter around herself wondering what made her trust this older man. What was she doing here? It was way passed sunset and she was sitting in a graveyard beside a fresh grave with a middle-aged man. “Wait and watch he says.” Buffy mumbles as she looks over at the stake and cross she had in each hand. She tried to amuse herself with trying to look for something interesting about the stake. Then she saw a hand emerge from the fresh grave and she squealed in fear.

A fledgling vampire pulled himself out of the grave and grinned upon seeing his first potential meal. Buffy watched in horror as she tried to push the lump that had formed in her throat. Then another pair of hands reached out for her and she realized that something was coming out of the grave she had been sitting on.

Merrick saw the look of terror on his charge’s face and he pulled a stake from his coat pocket and attacked the first fledgling. Buffy screamed and scrambled to stand as she watched a female fledgling this time.

“What do I do? What do I do?” Buffy screamed.

“Stake… through … the … heart!” Merrick said as he continued to fight.

Buffy quickly looked at the stake in her right hand. The female fledgling made her way towards her, fangs barred and eyes burning yellow. The young Slayer backed up, unsure of what to do when she tripped and fell flat on her back. The vampire was on her quickly and it was only luck that she had the cross up since she was trying to shield her face. The vampire growled angrily at the pain. Moving quickly, Buffy plunged the stake into the vampire’s chest and it exploded into a cloud of dust.

She looked up to see a similar cloud of dust before Merrick as well.

“Was that what I think it was?” She said in disbelief.

Merrick nodded solemnly. “Now do you understand?”

“This can’t be happening.”

“You are the Chosen One Buffy.”

“No… I can’t …” she stopped in mid-sentence as her senses seemed to tingle. She felt something similar when the first vampire appeared but she dismissed it as just a muscle sore because of the cheerleading practice earlier. She looked around but saw nothing. This was just all too strange and she didn’t want it.

“I’m not this Chosen One. Choose someone else.” She said running away.

Merrick watched her with a loud sigh. He knew that she most probably needed some time to process everything.

“Looks like you have your work cut out for you.” Angel said revealing himself from behind a tree.

“I know. But there’s something about her. She will be a great Slayer if she just accepts her destiny.”

“We have other problems.”


**
Merrick and Angel returned to the warehouse to find the other three guards thankfully not at each other’s throats. Caden was reading a book. Nikolai was practicing some moves while Spike was drowning his lust for violence with a bottle of Jack Daniels.

“And so Yoda and Obi-wan ‘ave returned.” Spike quipped.

Angel shot him an icy glare.

“So can we go out and play now Daddy?” Spike said making Niko chuckle.

“Unfortunately, no. Angel has confirmed something that I hoped wasn’t true.” Merrick said looking for Angel to continue.

“Lothos.”

“Lothos?” Caden said finally looking up from his book.

“I didn’t see him exactly but I saw Amilyn in town and the two fledglings that Merrick and Buffy dusted tonight smelled like him.”

“So he’s creating minions to take the town over.” Niko replied.

“The bloody ponce most probably wants enough minions to overwhelm the Slayer then ‘e’ll make ‘is move. So that means we ‘ave to go out there and thin their numbers, right?” Spike asked hopefully.

“But we have to be discrete. And that goes especially for you two.” Angel said pointing a finger at both Spike and Niko.

“Whatever you say.” Niko replied but the grin both he and Spike were wearing didn’t comfort Angel at all.


A/N:
Meanings: taken from online dictionary …
faccia di culo – butt ugly
ceffo - jerk

Nikolai is a new vampire guard that joined them around the turn of the century